Troy volleyball drops last regular season game to Georgia Southern

Troy played its last regular-season volleyball game against Georgia Southern, coming away with a 3-1 loss in Statesboro, Georgia, on Friday, Nov. 13.

With the loss, the Trojans (14-17, 7-9 Sun Belt) have earned the seventh seed in the Sun Belt Championship Tournament.

Troy raced out to a quick start, taking the lead and holding it for most of the set. Although the Eagles (10-18, 5-11 Sun Belt) came back, stealing the lead at 29-28, Troy fought back to take the set 31-29.

The Eagles dominated the next two sets and kept the Trojans at a -.100 and -.160 attack percentage to win the second and third sets, 25-16 and 25-11, respectively.

Even though the Trojans’ hopes for victory were ended in the fourth, they posted their match-high percentage of .200 in the set, with the score at 22-18. This was short-lived, however, as the tight set took a turn in favor of the Eagles.

Georgia Southern won six out of the next seven points, making its lead 24-23. Troy continued to battle until the end, but was eventually beaten by the Eagles, losing the final set 28-26 to give Georgia Southern the 3-1 victory.

The Trojans were led by senior outside hitter Blaire Winston, who posted 12 kills in the match. Junior middle hitter and right side Sara Landis followed her with nine kills, while junior outside hitter Symone Shaw tallied eight.

This resulted in their low .059 hitting percentage against Georgia Southern’s .182.

Defensively, senior defensive specialist Ali Dowdall, who posted 19 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Avalon Nero, who had 12, led the Trojans. Sophomore setter Reina Terry also contributed with 36 assists.

Troy will now await the Sun Belt Championship tournament, which will take place next week in Statesboro, Georgia. This single-elimination tournament will begin Friday, Nov. 20, when Troy will take on Appalachian State (20-7, 13-3 Sun Belt).

Match time against the second-seeded Mountaineers is set for 11 a.m.